Singaporeans have world’s second most ‘powerful’ passport

Singaporeans are holding on to the world's second-most ‘powerful’ passport, according to a worldwide ranking for passports.

Singapore has the second most powerful passport in the world, according to 2017 Passport Index. Photo courtesy: visareporter

Singapore was joint-second with Sweden, with a visa-free score of 156, while Germany took the top spot with one point ahead in the 2017 Passport Index.Coming in joint-third were Denmark, Finland, France, Spain, Switzerland, Norway, the UK and the US.

Singapore’s ranking improved by one spot from the 2016 results. The Passport Index is developed by Arton Capital, a financial advisory firm specialising in investor programmes for residence and citizenship.

The financial advisory firm ranked the power of each country’s passport based on three factors. Firstly, they counted how many countries that a nation’s passport holders could visit without a visa, or by obtaining a visa on arrival. The two figures were then weighted against each other; and finally, in the case of a tie, the United Nations Development Programme Human Development Index was used for final comparison.

Germany received a visa-free score of 157, compared to Singapore’s 156. A total of 199 passports worldwide were included in the index. The passports at the bottom of the list were from Iraq (92), Pakistan (93) and Afghanistan (94).

Another similar passport ranking last year had also placed Germany at the top with the most travel freedom. The 2016 Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index, released in February last year, had ranked Singapore at 5th place, with unrestricted access to 173 countries out of 219 countries.

Arton Capital’s study of passports factored in 199 destinations, with territories annexed to other countries such as Norfolk Island (Australia), French Polynesia (France), British Virgin Islands (Britain) excluded as they do not issue their own passports.

Author

Ashraf Jamal – Senior Writer

Ashraf Jamal brings a rare depth to writing equipped with a degree in journalism, a postgraduate degree in political science, and a degree in law from the Allahabad University. His experience includes editing and publishing the Northern India Patrika and writing for Times of India for almost a decade covering just about any topic under the sun including NRIs and Indian diaspora.